City Paddler - How I started Paddling and You can Too!

Michael Taylor

Description

This is a story of how a middle aged person from the inner city of Chicago starting paddling. It starts with his interest in the outdoors and what sparked his interest in the sport of canoeing and kayaking. Not only does it details some of the urban water paddling available, it also talks about the paddling and environmental community. Paddling is available in almost every urban area.

Informations

• Publié par: First Edition Design Publishing
• Date de parution: 15 avril 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781622875870
• Langue: English

Extrait

City Paddler: How I Got Started Paddling and You can too!
Michael Taylor


First Edition Design Publishing, Inc.
City Paddler

How I Got Started Paddling and You can too!




By

Michael Taylor
www.citypaddler.com
City Paddler – How I Started and You can Too!
Copyright ©2014 Michael Taylor

ISBN 978-1622-875-87-0 EBOOK

April 2014

Published and Distributed by
First Edition Design Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 20217, Sarasota, FL 34276-3217
www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com



ALL R I G H T S R E S E R V E D. No p a r t o f t h i s b oo k pub li ca t i o n m a y b e r e p r o du ce d, s t o r e d i n a r e t r i e v a l s y s t e m , o r t r a n s mit t e d i n a ny f o r m o r by a ny m e a ns ─ e l e c t r o n i c , m e c h a n i c a l , p h o t o - c o p y , r ec o r d i n g, or a ny o t h e r ─ e x ce pt b r i e f qu ot a t i o n i n r e v i e w s , w i t h o ut t h e p r i o r p e r mi ss i on o f t h e a u t h o r or publisher .
Table of Contents

Preface
City Paddler
What is City Paddling?
Love of the Water
Boat or RV
Valencia to Chicago
Boating to Kayaking
University of Illinois Chicago Pool Class
Canoecopia
WMCKA
CASKA
Chicago Paddling
Taylor Island
Lake Michigan Paddling Experience
Paddling Where You Live
Part of a Community
CASKA
Openlands
Annual Events
Paddling Summary
I See God
Preface



I am an urban kid born with asphalt & concrete under my feet listening to sounds of sirens, loud trucks and buses, the crackle of trains, and the songs of R& B and Gospel on the radio. Now I am listening to the sounds of the land, I hear the splash of fish grasping for food and the splash of birds grasping for the fish. I have been surprised to learn that there are quiet closets even in the heart of an urban city, a place with easy access that before may have been invisible to most people. How many times have people gone on expeditions to far off places to find a place of solitude and serenity? Many books and movies have been produced that records these journals and offers a glimpse into a world that most people may not ever be able to ever go and visit. The Pacific Coastal Waterway, the boundary waters of Canada, and warm tropical waters of the Gulf of Mexico are dream places to paddle for most people who live in an urban city. For most of us who are still raising children and paying bills every day, those exotic adventures are far off into the future. Personally I don’t have the vacation time or the money to go on one of those dream paddling vacations, for now they remain on my bucket list. In dealing with the here and now, I have found that there are some quiet places right in my own neighborhood. Of course they cannot compare to the beauty of uniqueness of the other places I have mentioned, but I reach my local quiet place in 30 minutes giving me plenty of enough time to go to my son’s baseball game later in the day. When I was a child, I could not wait for recess as it was the best part of the day to go outside to run and play. Now that I am grown, I still cannot wait to go outside to paddle and play. Books and DVD movies are great particularly in the winter giving the viewer an opportunity to go places that they cannot go. Yet a book or something in a movie cannot compare to going outside and experiencing nature on your own. I am not an expert paddler having grown up participating in this sport since I was a child, rather the opposite as I started paddling well into my middle age. I wrote this book to share one of the greatest joys and passions of life; I want to raise awareness to others that may also have an interest in this sport. I want people to take advantage of this now while they can and not take for granted that what is in front of them will always be there.

One of the things I try my best not to do is to waste time! It is not that because I am old that I wake up by 5:30am or 6:00am everyday even on weekends; it is because I have so much to do. I know some young adults are like vampires staying up late at night and sleeping until the afternoon. I never had an opportunity to do this when I was young as I married right after college and had to always get up early to go and “make the donuts”. I have been blessed to have had many toys from cars, motorcycles, and boats, but now as I get older all I want to do is just go fishing, ride my motorcycle until sunset, or paddle until the sun falls under the trees. Being able to indulge in all my wants takes a special partner that is tolerated and patient. My wife does not share the passion that I do for my hobbies but she is tolerant enough to let me go outside and play with my toys. It is difficult to balance the time between all my hobbies and my family, church, and work obligations. So let me give a special acknowledgement to my dear wife for her patience and children for theirs. I have tried to get my wife in a boat with me but that is just not going to happen, but she is content with sitting and watching me and my son go play out on the water while she reads her books. I love and appreciate my wife for these last 14 years of marriage and I hope to be blessed with many more. Thank you Lenora, Little Michael, Nigel, and Gabriel.
Writing a book is not an easy task, and sometimes as the author you can be too close to it to really see any issues. So I have to extend thanks to Genera Jackson-Cunningham that put in a lot of hard work and effort into editing my writing and to help me see my writing from a different perspective.

Michael Taylor
City Paddler

How I got started paddling and you can too!

It is not often but on some mornings during the week, I can sneak away for an early morning paddle before I am missed at work. As I paddle towards the Halsted Street Bridge, I see the local CTA bus carrying passengers to work and school. Behind me, I hear the clacking of tires going over the bridge on highway 57 as people head into the city to begin their day. On the river, I see an egret standing in the water patiently waiting for breakfast. A popular expression today is “Just Do You” and this is how I “Do Me” by going for a morning paddle which is an awesome thing. There are many adjectives that I can use to describe the experience of paddling and there is no doubt that I will use my online thesaurus and use all of them in this book. Regardless of the word used, the experience is the same; great is every way!! I wanted to write a book to share my love and experience of paddling and to raise awareness that people can look in their own urban community and find a place where they can venture out and paddle. When most people think of paddling, they may think of a rushing river in the mountains or an open lake in the Canadian boundary waters or one of our great oceans, but you don't have to travel that far to enjoy the experience of paddling. You might be surprised that the little overpass you travel over every day on your way to work can offer you a great paddling experience. You might be surprised to know that you don't have to get in your car and cross state lines in order to find a body of water to paddle on.

Recently as I was paddling underneath that Halsted Bridge that crosses over the Little Calumet River near 130 th street, there was a man fishing at the base. We exchanged our morning greetings and then he said to me “I have never seen a black man kayak before”. Unfortunately, this is not the first time I have heard this. In fact, I hear it very often but every time I hear it a big smile comes upon me and I chuckle a bit. Now the next big question is “why don't more minorities paddle?” I will offer my opinion on this in a later chapter in the book. It is just an opinion and not a scientific study but after years of attempting to get others to join me on the water I think my assessment holds a little weight. I want to share my love of the water and the serenity it offers (I did not have to look up the word serenity in the thesaurus, it is a word I have used to describe paddling for many years) and share the many fun experiences and stories I have had on the water. Living in the Chicago area, this book will highlight the many unique urban waterways this urban area has to offer. Since most major cities in the United States were founded on the continent's waterways, there should be a great place to paddle in every urban area. This is not a biography on my life so I don't expect a movie to ever be adapted from it however, I will be sharing my personal experience of paddling and what it offers and means to me. I did not intend on writing a religious book per say, however that peace and serenity that I find in paddling is enhanced because I am paddling with God (I will describe more about that when I get to that chapter). My hope is that after you finish reading this book it will raise your awareness as to the joy and benefits of paddling, the importance of the health of our waterway systems, and that you will choose a word that best describes the joy of paddling for yourself.
What is City Paddling?



In Chicago, taking the “L” train, CTA bus, or Metra train downtown is how most people working in the city start their day. For those not able to take public transportation, driving on one of the highways or toll-ways is the alternative. Most people in thinking about paddling picture in their mind a quiet lake or river far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. They think you have to travel for hours and venture out of state either to Wisconsin or Michigan for a paddling adventure get-away. Many people have seen those who take the tourist route and rent a kayak on the Chicago River downtown but most people are not aware of the diversity of paddling options in and around the city of “big shoulders”. I often tell people that there are only three things I hate about Chicago and those are January, February, and March. Actually, some years March can have great